Roof construction



Dec. 4, 1951 M T ETAL 2,577,582

ROOF CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 4, 1947 I I VTORS ANDRE HAHN/7'7 BY HERBERTL.B/RZ//7,J

,4 TTORNE) Patented Dec. 4, 1951 ROOF CONSTRUCTION Andrew B. Hammitt andHerbert L. Birum. J r., Trenton, N. J.

Application February 4, 1947, Serial No. 726,262

2 Claims. (Cl. 108-1) with their ends overlapping and supported by the'I structural framework of a building.

Roof construction of this type frequently embody relatively long sheetsof material, such as sheets of corrugated cement asbestos composition 8,10, or 12 feet in length. Sheets of this type are economical to handleand apply but they require support between the end of the sheetstaprevent sagging, vibration or injury to the sheets under a heavy loadof snow or me high wind. The necessary support for the sheets is usuallyprovided by constructing the framework forthe roof with purlins spacedonl 3 /2 to say 5 feet'apart. However, in many constructions it isunnecessary and too expensive to locate the purlins so close togetherwhereas existing constructions to which sheet material is to be appliedoften have the purlins spaced 8 or 10 feet apart.

In accordance with our invention means are provided for supporting sheetmaterial at points between the purlins so as to prevent sagging orvibration of the sheets even when the sheets are relatively long and thep-urlins are spaced far apart. These advantages are preferably attainedby providing bridging members or tie rods which extend from one purlinto another and by "employing supporting members which extend between thebridging members and sheet material near the center of the sheets toproduce a structure somewhat in the nature of a truss.

One of the objects of our invention is to strengthen roof constructionsembodying relatively long sheets of material.

Another object of our invention is to reduce the cost of constructingroofs of the type wherein sheet material is supported adjacent its endsby the structural framework of a building.

A particular object of our invention is to provide a novel type of roofconstruction embodying elements which cooperate with purlins and sheetmaterial to afford a support for the centers of the sheets of material.

These and other objects and features of our invention will appear fromthe following description thereof in which reference is made to thefigures of the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a sectional view through a roof embodying a typical embodimentof our invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a detail ofv the construction shown inFig. 1;

' of Fig. 4.

2 s i Fig. 4 is aperspective of aportion of a roof embodyingalternativeforms of our invention;

and 1 Fig-:5 is a sectional view taken onv the line 5-5 In that form ofour invention illustrated-in Figs. 1. to 3, the framework of the roofembodies purlins 2 and 4 which may bespaced apart any suitable distance,say ll)v feet. Sheets of roofing material which are, say. 11 feet inlength, are applied to the purlins 2 and 4 and are arranged with theirends overlapping. and supported by the purlins. Thus, the sheet 6, whichis represented as being asheet of corrugatedncement asbestos material.is supported with itslower end 8 overlapping the upper end ill of thesheet 42 and supported by the purlins 2. The upper end M of the sheet 5is supported by the purlin 4 and is overlapped by the lower end It ofthesheet l8. I v

The sheets 5, l2 and 18 may be secured to the purlins 2 and 4 by anysuitable .means, but as shown, the fastening means employed are of thetype shown and described in our copending ap-- plication Serial No.667,682, filed Mayo. 1946, now abandoned. These fastening means are inthe form of L-shaped bolts 20 which extend through openings in theoverlapping portions of the sheets and have inner laterally projectingend portions 22 provided with hook-shaped extremities 24 which embracethe lower flanges 2B of. the purlinsn The outer ends of. the fasteningmeans are provided with nuts 28 and washers 30 for securing the sheets.in place. Sealing means 32 extend over the nuts 28 and the outer endsof the fastening means to protect them, from the weather. a v I Inorderto aiford support forthe. sheet 5 between the purlins 2 and 4, abridging member 34 is placed so that itextends from one purlin to theother and a supporting member 36 is posi tioned between the purlins inposition to engage the bridging member and the sheet 6 so as tocooperate therewith to form a truss-like assembly.

The bridging member 34 shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 is formed on one endwith a hook-shaped extremity 38 which extends over the upper flange 48of the purlin 4 and embraces the edge ofthe flange. The bridging memberis inclined downward from the flange 4|] of purlin 4 to a point belowthe center of the sheet 6 where the supporting member 36 is located. Thebridging member then is inclined upward and passes across the upper faceofv the flange 40 of the purlin? and is provided with a threaded end 42which projects beyond the upper face of the flange. A U-shaped clip 44is applied over the threaded end of the bridging member and embraces theedge of the flange 40 on purlin 2. A nut 46 engaging the threads on theend 42 of the bridging member serves to secure the clip to the purlinand thereby secures the bridging member in place.

The supporting member 36 located adjacent the center of the bridgingmember, maybe welded or otherwise secured thereto, but as shown in Fig.2 an eye 48 is formed on the lower end of the supporting member so thatit may be slipped over the end bridging member and moved into place. Theupper portion of the supporting member is provided with a strap or othercontact member 50 which is formed to engage the inner surface of thesheet 6 adjacent the center of the sheet. The contact member iscorrugated to conform to the contour of the inner surface of the sheet 6when the sheet itself is corrugated as shown. The contact member alsoextends a substantial distance transversely of the sheet to afford anextended area of support adjacent the center of the sheet. Arms 52 areconnected to the contact member 50 adjacent the opposite ends thereofand are connected to the eye 48 which surrounds the bridging member. Thelength of the arms 52 are preferably such that the contact member 50will normally be positioned slightly above a plane including the upperflanges 40 of the purlins 2 and 4 and so that when the nut 46 is drawnup forcibly the sheet material will be caused to assume the positionindicated by the dotted line 54. The supporting member therefore tendsto hold the center of the sheet above the plane of the flanges 40' sothat when the fastening means 20 are applied to secure the ends of thesheet in place, the sheet 6 will' tend to bow upward at the center andthe bridging member will tend to bow downward to produce a truss-likeassembly. The center of the sheet 6 is thus supported and the sheet andassembly are strengthened so that they will withstand a heavy loadwithout sagging, vibraion or danger of breaking or injuring the sheet.In applying the constructions described, the supporting member 34 isfirst applied to the bridging member and the threaded end 42 of thebridging member is then inserted beneath the upper end In of the sheet I2 and over the upper flange 40 of the purlin 2. The end 42 is positionedin one of the corrugations near the center of the sheet where it willnot interfere with the application of the fastening means 20 employed insecuring the sheets 6 and I2 to the purlin 2. The opposite hook-shapedend 38 of the bridging member 34 is then placed over the upper flange 40of the purlin 4 and the bridging member is moved into position to causethe end 38 to em brace the edge of the flange 40. The sheet 6 is thenplaced in positioned with its lower end 8 overlapping the upper end IDof the sheet I2 and with its upper end l4 overlying the purlin 4. Thecontact member 50 of the supporting member is also positioned to engagethe inner face of the sheet 6. The fastening means 2t] are then appliedto the sheets 6 and I2 and to purlin 2 to hold the sheets in place.Thereafter clip 44 and nut 46 are applied to the threaded end 42 of thebridging member and are drawn up so as to force the clip into retainingengagement with the flange 40 of the purlin 2. The nut 46 is preferablydrawn up sufficiently toplace the bridging member under tension to forcethe supporting member 36 upward against the sheet 6 so that it will tendto raise the upper end l4 of sheet a slight distance above the upperflange 40 of purlin 4. When sheet [8 is subsequently applied so as tooverlap the upper end H of sheet 6 it will press the sheet 6 downagainst the contact member 50. Moreover, when the fastening means 20 aresecured to purlin 4 to hold the upper end [4 of sheet 6 and the lowerend I6 of sheet 18 in place the central portion of the sheet 6 will befirmly held against contact member 50 so that the supporting member 34and the bridging member 36 cooperate with the sheet 6 and purlins '2 and4 to produce a strong truss-like assembly which strengthens the sheetand affords support therefor between the purlins 2 and 4.

Those forms of our invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5 are designed for usein constructions wherein tie rods 60 extend between the purlins 62 and64. The tie rods may be those initially employed in erecting thestructural framework or they may be additional tie rods added for thepurposes of the present invention. These tie rods serve as bridgingmembers of the assembly and .are used in combination with supportingmembers 66 and 68 for supporting the central portions of the sheets 10.

The supporting member 66 is in the form of a T-shaped constructionprovided with a contact plate 72 which engages the inner surface of thesheet 10. The lower end of the T-shaped construction is provided with asaddle 14 which bears against the tie rod 60 to hold the supportingmember in place. The supporting member 68 is provided at its lower endwith a saddle 14 for engaging the tie rod 60 but has diverging arms 16which extend upward from saddle 14 to the opposite ends of the contactmember 18. In this construction a bolt extends through the sheet 10 andcontact member 18 and serves to provide a positive connection betweenthe sheet and supporting member.

While we have shown and described several different embodiments of ourinvention it will be apparent that numerous changes may be made in theform, construction and arrangement of elements without departing fromthe teachings of our invention. In view thereof, it should be understoodthat the forms of our invention specifically referred to above and shownin the drawings are intended to be illustrative only and are notintended to limit the scope of our invention.

We claim:

1. In a roof construction embodying corrugated sheet material arrangedwith the ends of the sheets overlapping and supported by purlins, meansfor supporting said sheet material between said purlins comprising abridging member having its opposite ends resting upon the surfaces ofsaid purlins engaged by the sheet material and within a corrugationthereof, one end of said bridging member having a laterally extendingpart for engaging a purlin and the other end of said bridging memberbeing threaded and having means thereon for securing said opposite endto another purlin, said bridging member having a portion thereof betweensaid purlins spaced from the lower surface of said sheet material, arigid supporting member extending from said portion of the bridgingmember to said sheet material and cooperating therewith to hold thebridging member and sheet material in predetermined spaced relation, andfastening means extending through the overlapping portions of saidsheets and into retaining engagement with said purlins, said supportingmember being of greater length than the distance between said portion ofthe bridging member and a plane including the surfaces of said purlinsengaged by the sheet material whereby the supporting member tends to'thrust the sheet material upward adjacent the center thereof.

2. A roof construction of the character defined in claim 1 wherein thatportion of the supporting member engaging the sheet material presents acorrugated surface conforming to the corrugations of the sheet materialand extending in a direction transverse to the bracing member and onopposite sides thereof, and having elements extending from opposite endsof said portion to the bracing member.

ANDREW B. HAMMITI'. HERBERT L. BIRUM, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

